In Ken Gormley’s opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia will be remembered as the architect of the modern conservative U.S. Supreme Court.
“His strong belief in strict constructionism of the Constitution and looking at the original intent of the framers of the Constitution is now a principal that has really pervaded the legal profession and the system of laws in the United States,” Mr. Gormley, dean of the Duquesne University School of Law and president-in-waiting of the school on the Bluff, said Saturday.
That position, said Mr. Gormley, was not one held by many legal scholars, judges and lawyers in the United States until Justice Scalia joined the high court in 1986, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan.
Now, it is dominant, driven forward by Justice Scalia.
“More than any justice on that court he has shaped the Supreme Court as it is today, and as it is likely to remain for many years,” he said.
Justice Scalia, 79, died Saturday at a resort in Texas. He was the keynote speaker at the 100th anniversary of Duquesne University’s law school in September 2011, talking about the importance of Catholic legal education. Justice Scalia was one of two Supreme Court justices to visit the law school in the past few years; Justice Clarence Thomas spoke there in April 2013.
Mr. Gormley, who was shocked to learn about Justice Scalia’s death, remembers him as a vigorous, fun-loving and outspoken person. “He always was in good spirits, energetic, and never one to shy away from speaking his mind. Some people didn’t like that, but it was his hallmark.”
Justice Scalia agreed to participate in the centennial celebration because of the university’s values, Mr. Gormley said. In addition to being Catholic, Duquesne University was founded to help recent immigrants receive an education. Justice Scalia’s father immigrated to the United States from Sicily.
“His religion, his faith and his belief in giving opportunities to the common man were always very important to him,” said Mr. Gormley.
Mr. Gormley, who said he had run into Justice Scalia at other events, had fond memories of the justice’s visit to Duquesne. He participated in a panel discussion, clapped and whistled during an opera performance by the university’s music school, and was the first to show up for the main dinner in the student union ballroom, where he greeted everyone.
“It was as if he had graduated from this law school, too, and was celebrating it,” said Mr. Gormley. “He just was so warm and really cared about this being a special occasion for us, and I’ll never forget that.”
Madasyn Czebiniak: mczebiniak@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1269
First Published: February 14, 2016, 5:16 a.m.